


The Art of Bowing

by batty4u



Category: Suits (TV)
Genre: Dom/sub, M/M, Spanking, Sub!Harvey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-04
Updated: 2013-11-04
Packaged: 2017-12-31 11:05:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1030959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/batty4u/pseuds/batty4u
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Their relationship had never been predictable.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Art of Bowing

**Author's Note:**

> Meg had asked for Sub!Harvey fic ages ago so I figured I'd write this for her and thankfully was able to wrap it up in time for her birthday.
> 
> Enjoy.

Their relationship had never been predictable.

Harvey was constantly surprising Mike, in the office, in public, at home. Somedays he surprised Mike with his compassion, stopping on their way to the courthouse to chat with a nameless street musician before handing him some fifties and carrying on his way. Other days is was his anger that shocked Mike, seeing the raw and unhindered Rage that brewed beneath his calm and over confident demeanor finally being released on the unsuspecting Travis Tanner. Most days it was the little things, his love of crappy scifi movies, the soft tenor of his voice as he sang along with his Dean Martin records, the night he cooked a three course Italian dinner because he was bored.   
So when Harvey, dominant, all knowing, powerful, perfect Harvey, stood in front of Mike, vulnerable, lost, and so far outside his normal comfort zone, Mike felt he really shouldn’t have been surprised. 

But he was.

“You look like hell,” Mike said when he returned to the condo that night to find Harvey working in the dining room. He glanced up at Mike and offered a weak, pitiful excuse for a smile, before turning back to his laptop and stack of paperwork. “You feeling any less homicidal, Captain?”

“No,” Harvey said, but Mike could hear the smile in his voice at the Captain jab. Jessica had sent him home earlier that afternoon after he had made three separate associates cry in the span of an hour. “Just tired.”

“It’s late, you should go to bed,” Mike suggested, pulling off his shoes and jacket, dropping his bag in the hall. 

“Can’t too much work to do,” Harvey muttered. “How did the settlement talks go?” He asked, reaching for what Mike was sure had to be his eight coffee of the day.

“They settled for 350 Million.” Mike heard Harvey choke on his coffee and he grinned. 

“That’s three hundred more than we initially asked for,” Harvey said, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. “How the hell did you-”

“Like you said, I talk too much.” Mike padded over to him, kissing his forehead, before going to grab a beer from the fridge. “I just saw an opportunity to bring in more money for Wyatt. All it took was a little bit of bullshitting and some big words and I had them tripping over themselves to sign.”

Harvey watched him, his face a mix of pride and amusement. “Look at you, the pup’s finally learned. I should start worrying, your billables might surpass mine soon.”

Mike just laughed. “I highly, highly doubt that.”

“I don’t.” It was sincere and Mike couldn’t meet Harvey’s eyes. “You did good, Mike. Really.”

“Thanks. It would have been better if you were there. You should have seen their faces.”

Harvey stood and shut down his laptop. “I’m sorry I left you on your own like that.”

“Are you feeling any better?” Mike asked, grabbing a beer for Harvey and handing it over. Harvey shrugged. “Anything I can do?”

“Probably not.” Mike leaned into the light kiss Harvey pressed to his cheek. “Nothing you’d be up to after a long day.”

Mike raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Try me.”

Harvey shook his head. “It’s fine, Mike. I just need to sleep and go for a long run in the morning.”

He was stepping away when something in Mike snapped. He knew exactly what Harvey was doing, pulling away, avoiding the problem, distancing himself from Mike under some false sense of protecting himself. It happened often, but Mike hadn’t said anything. Harvey was already quite far outside his comfort zone with their relationship, Mike hadn’t felt a need to push him further.  
But this time, Mike’s hand grabbed the silk tie around Harvey’s neck and pulled him back in with a sharp tug. It was something Harvey did when they were going to scene, or when Mike was acting like a smartass and he didn’t like it. Mike worried for a split second that Harvey was going to fight him, but Harvey’s breath hitched and Mike could see the color rising in his cheeks.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, his voice even and forceful.

Harvey’s eyes were wide and uncertain, scanning Mike’s face. “Mike-”

“Answer me,” Mike ordered, and he could almost feel the shivers that ran through Harvey’s body. Any other night, this behavior would have been out of line. But something had shifted between them. Or rather, it had been in the process of shifting for the past couple months, but now it was coming to a crescendo. They were on equal footing.

A flush of anger and indignation crossed Harvey’s face for a moment and he opened his mouth to argue. He changed his mind a moment later though and the bodily change in him was staggering. his eyes turned their attention to the floor, his shoulders lost their confident support, his posture became meek and small. He bowed his head in a way Mike had only ever seen when Jessica was angry and Harvey knew it was his fault.

“I fucked up,” he said after a moment, sounding utterly defeated.

Mike frowned. “Harvey, we won.”

“You won,” Harvey corrected him. “All I managed to do was piss off Jessica, take it out of people who didn’t deserve it, and almost ruin the deal with a rash decision.”

“”Harvey-”

“You wanted to know well that’s what it is,” Harvey snapped. Then sheepish look and defeated air returned in seconds. “Sorry.”

Mike set down his beer and took Harvey’s from where it hung precariously in his hand. “Shit happens sometimes. You can go and apologize to Jessica in the morning, make it better, volunteer for pro bono work, whatever penance you feel is appropriate. You can even apologize to the associates if you feel that bad about it.” he smiled. “It’s not the end of the world.”

Harvey gave a weak nod and tried to move away, but the defeated air did not change. Mike pulled him back in by the tie and kissed him gently. Harvey didn’t kiss him in return.

“What?” He asked. Harvey shook his head. “Harvey,” he warned, voice low and surprisingly dangerous for having always bared his neck for the man. His tone made Harvey wince.

“It’s stupid,” he offered as an explanation.

“Tell me.” When Harvey finally made eye contact, he looked so lost that Mike couldn’t do anything but pull him close and let Harvey hide his face in his neck. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s stupid,” Harvey said again.

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

There was a sigh and a jumbled muttering of words Mike couldn’t hear as Harvey spoke against his neck. 

“So I can hear you, Harvey.” Harvey made a whining sound in the back of his throat and Mike reached up to tug lightly at his hair in warning.

“I should be punished,” Harvey bit out, hiding his face in Mike’s shirt.

Oh.

Oh.

That was the conversation they were having.

Mike had yet to be on this side of things. It was always Harvey in control, Harvey dealing out punishment and rewards, Harvey with all the answers, with all the grace and confidence, there to take care of Mike.

It was strange to be on the other side of the glass for once.

He took a slow breath and tried to figure out what was best to do.

Take care of Harvey.

Yeah, he could do that.

“Why do you think that?” Mike asked. 

“I don’t know.”

“Yes you do or you wouldn’t have said anything.” Mike pulled at Harvey’s hair until the older man met his eyes. “Speak.”

“I was out of line,” Harvey said. “I shouted at Jessica, took out my anger on people who didn’t deserve it. And because I acted rash, you almost lost the case.” Harvey slumped against him. “I’m sorry.”

“You think you should be punished for that,” Mike said. He made sure not to say it in a questioning tone. It was a statement, one he needed Harvey to confirm one last time before he let himself get wrapped up in his new role.

“Yes.”

“Do you want that from me?”

Harvey was still a moment. But then he gave a weak nod and looked away.

“You trust me with that?” Mike asked. Another hesitant nod. “Use your words.”

“I trust you, Mike.” Harvey glanced up at his face. “Please.”

It was a meek and foreign plea in Harvey’s mouth and Mike didn’t like it in the slightest. He nodded and kissed Harvey gently. “Okay. Stay here. Pack up your things and wait for me.”

“Yessir.”

The muttered reply sent a lovely chill down Mike’s spine.

While Harvey did as he was told, Mike went to the bedroom to grab lube and condoms, because whenever he was on the receiving end of a punishment, Harvey usually ended it with some sort of comfort sex. Whether Harvey would accept that from him, Mike didn’t know, but he would plan for it anyway. He took a slow breath, washing his face in the bathroom to calm his nerves. It gave Harvey some time to think over his decision. Mike wouldn’t have been surprised if, when he returned to the living room, Harvey had changed his mind. 

He hadn’t. 

He was still standing where Mike had left him, eyes fixed on the floor, the table cleared. Mike set the supplies down on the counter and Harvey glanced up. Mike didn’t miss the flush in his cheeks, but whether it was from embarrassment or arousal Mike wasn’t sure. 

“Do you want to use my safe word or do you have your own?” He asked, rolling up his sleeves. Harvey’s eyes followed the movement closely.

“Yours.”

“Say it.”

“Iron.” Harvey said. Mike, when they had begun this arrangement, had chosen metals as his three words: bronze, steel, iron. Iron ended a scene completely. He was grateful to have thus far never used it. He prayed Harvey wouldn’t say it either. 

“Good.” Mike cleared his throat. “Now I want us to be clear. You are being punished for misbehaving, not,” he said with emphasis, “because I am in any way disappointed in you.” He pulled off his tie and tossed it onto the counter. “Since you did three things wrong you’ll receive three sets of ten strikes. I’m counting the associates as one misdemeanor since I’m sure come the morning you won’t feel as guilty and they probably did deserve the verbal abuse.” Mike said with a chuckle, Harvey said nothing.

So Mike took one last breath and they began. 

“Strip down. Fold your clothes and place them on the counter.” When Harvey hesitated he added. “The longer it takes the more strikes I’ll add.”

It was an empty threat but it snapped Harvey out of his daze. He nodded and made quick work of his clothes, folding them neatly and setting them on the counter as Mike had ordered. When he stood naked in the open room, the color in his cheeks rose and Mike could see the nervous twitch in his fingers. It was odd to be clothed while Harvey was completely vulnerable in front of him, not even able to hide the fact that this whole scene already had him hard and on edge. 

“Okay?”

Harvey nodded, eyes on the floor.

“We’ll do this at the couch. Lean over the left arm, press your hands flat against the cushions and spread your legs.”

The arm of the sofa was high, reaching Harvey’s pelvis. Mike watched him move, noted the tension in his body, the way his breathing kept faltering. One more slow, steadying breath through his nose, and Harvey settled into position, bent over the arm at the hips, hands pressed against the leather and his legs spread wide. Mike made a noise of approval, a smile on his face when the sound made Harvey shiver and hide his face in the cushion.

After that, things became rather routine, to Mike’s surprise.

It was easy to hold Harvey at the base of his skull and press down, keeping him in place, collaring him with his hand. The first slap of his hand against Harvey’s ass surprised them both, Harvey letting out an undignified yelp at the sting and sound, Mike trying to gauge whether he’d hit too hard or not. The next three strikes were similar, mildly hesitant, Harvey tense and Mike unsure. But after the fifth slap of Mike’s hand, the rhythm fell into place. His grip on Harvey’s neck tightened and the final five strikes of the first set came in rapid succession, the sharp sound echoing in the room. Harvey was biting down on his lip trying not to make any noise.

“Take a moment to breathe,” Mike told him. “The next ten will be more painful.” Harvey said nothing. “Answer me when I speak to you, Harvey.”

“Y-yessir.”

“Do not bite your lip, you’ll make it bleed. There’s no shame in making a bit of noise.”

Harvey whined low in the back of his throat. “Yessir.”

Mike smiled, he was really starting to like the way Sir sounded on Harvey’s tongue. “Breathe.”

Harvey did, his body settling against the arm of the couch. Mike squeezed his neck and he whimpered, a soft pitiful sound. It went straight to Mike’s cock and he had to focus on the punishment to avoid getting ahead of himself.   
The next ten strikes were harder, though evenly distributed, five per cheek, and Mike’s hand stung from the contact. Harvey’s body kept seizing up, waiting for each slap with dread and anticipation. But as Mike knew, the more he tensed the more it hurt and maybe he was doing it on purpose, but whatever the reason, the last five of the set hurt much more than Mike had intended them to. Harvey’s toes barely touched the floor now, the force of Mike’s hand had pushed him forward. He couldn’t regain his footing, couldn’t steady himself against the hardwood floor, leaving himself at Mike’s mercy. Each time Mike had brought his hand down on his ass, Harvey had whined, little broken sounds Mike could barely hear at first. Near the end of the set he was swearing, soft whimpers melting into his begging words. It set Mike’s blood on fire.

He didn’t give warning for the last set. He squeezed Harvey’s neck a little bit tighter, knowing that the man was probably having a bit of trouble breathing. If that bothered Harvey though he never said a word. Each time he brought his hand down, Harvey made the sweetest sounds, swearing against the leather, whimpering if the pain was more than he’d expected, taking it without any sort of complaint. 

With three more strikes to go, something in Harvey’s body snapped. He went limp beneath Mike’s hand, his feet stopped their desperate search for solid ground, the tension in his back and shoulders melted away. 

“That’s it Harvey, that’s it,” Mike soothed, waiting before he delivered the final three strikes. “That’s a good boy.”

The petname made Harvey groan. 

“You have three more before you’re done,” Mike told him, leaning down to kiss the small of his back. “You’ve been good, Harvey. I’d like to fuck you, when you’re finished taking your punishment.” He swallowed thickly. “Would you like that?”

Harvey turned his head a fraction and glanced up at Mike, his soft brown eyes unfocused and watery. Mike expected him to say no, or at least express some sort of uncertainty about it, seeing as Mike had only topped once or twice, mostly when they were a little bit drunk and Harvey was willing to change it up. But that night it seemed Harvey was just full of surprises.

“Yes, please,” he said, his voice slurred. 

“Yes please what?” Mike asked, stepping away to grab the lube.

“Sir. Please sir.” Harvey corrected himself and Mike rewarded him with a soft kiss.

“Good boy.” This time the petname made Harvey smile. He held still while Mike grabbed the bottle of lube.

The initial press of cold against his ass had made Harvey hiss, trying to move away from the attempted intrusion. Mike shushed him and waited till he settled, before tracing his hole with a finger. He was careful, working Harvey open with slow deliberate thrusts of his fingers, not wanting to hurt him or rush it along. Harvey was lead beneath him, sighing and making soft whimpering sounds against the leather of the couch each time Mike pressed his fingers back in.   
When two fingers slid into Harvey with slick ease, Mike withdrew them and brought his palm down on Harvey’s ass for the final three strikes. They hurt, Mike knew they hurt, he could feel the ache all the way up to his elbow and Harvey damn near howled. But when he lowered his hand and pressed soft kisses along Harvey’s delicate spine, the older man sighed and relaxed back into his position, a look of blissful intoxication on his face.

“You okay?” Mike asked, wiping his hand on Harvey’s thigh.

“Yessir. Thank you, sir,” Harvey slurred. 

“Hmm maybe I should punish you more often,” Mike mused, pulling off his belt. “I like you like this, Harvey, so pliant and sweet. Put your arms behind your back for me. I’m going to bind your wrists.”

Harvey didn’t argue or hesitate. He moved his arms until they were crossed over his back and only whined when Mike carefully wound his belt around his wrists, fastening it tightly so Harvey couldn’t move.

“Too tight?”

“No sir.”

“Good.”

He kept Harvey bent over the arm of the sofa while he fucked him. It was uncomfortable for Harvey no doubt, the angle of his hips and being unable to use his arms keeping him from moving back to meet Mike’s thrusts. It meant that with each thrust Mike was taking what he wanted and Harvey had to simply stay where he was and be good. With each snap of Mike’s hips Harvey grew louder, swearing into the cushion, begging Mike without coherent words. 

“M-mike, oooh fuck, fuck,” He gasped out when Mike angled his hips just right and found Harvey’s prostate.

“I bet your ass hurts,” Mike said, holding Harvey’s arms where the belt wrapped around his wrists. His hips stilled, his cock pressed into the hilt. “I bet it aches and stings each time I move, doesn’t it?” He circled his hips, cock staying deep in Harvey’s ass. The zipper on Mike’s fly dragged against the raw skin and Harvey hissed. 

The contrast of being clothed while he fucked Harvey made Mike feel oddly possessive. Harvey was completely at his mercy, the soft lines of his body flushed and vulnerable under Mike’s hands, while Mike stood there fucking him despite being dressed in the same clothes he’d worn to work. He could see why Harvey enjoyed it, it gave him a strange sense of both ownership and power. 

“Your ass is going to be sore tomorrow,” Mike leaned down, sucking at Harvey’s shoulder. “It’s going to hurt every time you sit down and you won’t be able to focus for shit.”

“Please, oh fuck, please,” Harvey sobbed out, eyes screwed shut. 

“Please what?”

“Let me come.” It was begging, pure unadulterated begging and Mike had to slow his hips for fear of coming too soon. “Please.”

Mike hummed against Harvey’s shoulder. The way Harvey was positioned had his cock pressed against the arm of the sofa, the pressure possibly verging on painful. “You don’t deserve my hand tonight, Harvey.” The sound Harvey made was almost pitiful. “You asked to be punished, that’s part of it. You want to come, you come without my help. I don’t care if you rub yourself raw against the arm of the couch, you will take what you are given, am I understood?”

A soft curse before- “Yes sir.”

Mike reached for his chin and turned Harvey’s face so he could kiss him, sweet and loving, despite the harshness of his order. He could feel Harvey smile against his lips. 

Four sharp thrusts of his hips later and Harvey came with a sob, all tension left in him gone, his eyes closing as his orgasm ripped through him. Mike followed soon after, burying himself to the hilt inside Harvey, shaking from the effort to stay on his feet. 

“You okay?” He asked softly. Harvey gave a weak, muffled grunt which Mike took as a yes. He pulled out and carefully undid the belt on Harvey’s wrists, massaging feeling back into them until Harvey could move them without discomfort.   
Getting Harvey into the bath took some effort, as he’d seemed to lose all motor control during the scene. He leaned heavily on Mike as they made their way to the bathroom, clung to him like a child, and when Mike went to leave, to clean up while the water was running, he tried to pull him closer, to keep him from leaving. 

“I’ll be right back don’t worry.” Mike promised. He made quick work of cleaning up the living room, carefully wiping down the side of the couch so Harvey wouldn’t have a fit in the morning, tossing the condom in the trash, and washing his hands before returning to Harvey and helping him into the bath. 

Once Harvey was settled, Mike slid into the warm water with him, slotting himself between Harvey and the edge of the tub. Harvey was pressed against him the moment he was seated, his back against Mike’s chest, face turned so he could kiss Mike’s jaw. 

“You feeling any better?” Mike asked, his hand reaching up to toy with Harvey’s hair. 

“Yeah,” Harvey mumbled with a smile. “Thanks.”

“I’ll get you some painkillers before bed, or you’ll be too sore to go into work in the morning.”

“You don’t hit that hard.”

“You haven’t been spanked in a while.” Mike chided, piling Harvey in the ribs. Harvey squirmed and giggled at the ticklish feeling.

“That could change,” he said, opening his eyes to glance at Mike.

“Oh?”

Harvey just shrugged and twisted so he could kiss Mike properly.

It was an odd shift between them, but Mike couldn’t help but think it felt a little right.


End file.
